There is a clear temptation when you begin playing The Sims to simply make yourself and recreate the world around you. After all, you know yourself, but wouldn't it be great to see how a virtual version of you would react to a world where you're your own god? You can make yourself, your one bedroom apartment, and see how Virtual You compares to Real You. Can Virtual You get a job in politics by babbling in front of a mirror and telling gibberish jokes to random passers-by? Because that didn't work out so well for Real You.

Listen: if you're playing The Sims, your life isn't really that great. Instead of being a wealthy social butterfly entrepreneur, jet-setting to various tropical beaches on your fleet of private jets, you're hunched in front of a glowing rectangle, playing god to some pixels. But what if you could have that incredible tropical island life without having to do any of the work to get there? With The Sims, you finally can! Type in that one quote from Citizen Kane a few times, and suddenly you're wealthy beyond all comprehension. Also, you're always wearing a tuxedo instead of stained sweatpants, that girl you're too awkward to ever approach is in love with you, and you've somehow gone from Sports Mascot to Professional Athlete in a few days. Now if only you could get naked without your genitals pixelating immediately.